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Film: Alcatraz | Eberbach

Saturday, 4/15/2023
3:00 - 4:00
Richmond Meeting Room
Richmond/Senator Milton Marks

351 9th Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94118
United States

415-355-5600

A video screening of two remarkable photography slideshow works with custom soundtracks, collaborations between American photographer Jim Bengston (b. 1942; active in Norway) and American electroacoustic composer Ingram Marshall (1942-2022). Both videos in conjunction with the music are suggestive of the history of their subjects.

Alcatraz is a stark and eerie portrait of our local iconic island and its empty prison ruins. This video may change the way you see Alcatraz, and even beckon you for another visit.

NR, 30 min., 2013. No dialogue.

Eberbach is a survey of a Cistercian monastery with striking Romanesque and Gothic architecture, located in the Rheingau, Germany.

NR, 18 min., 2013. No dialogue.

Composer Marshall lived and worked in the SF Bay Area from 1973 to 1985, then moved and taught at Yale from the '90s onward. He is often associated with San Francisco, in part for one of his most well-known works, Fog Tropes (1981), which incorporates a field recording of SF Bay's foghorns. His musical style has been described as post-minimalist, immersive, mystical, influenced by non-Western sources and experimental techniques.

“Alcatraz, a multimedia installation done with the photographer Jim Bengston, uses a famous San Francisco site with a long complex history to evoke that special sense of dream and melancholy that is so characteristic of his [Marshall’s] work.” — composer John Adams

This screening made possible with the kind permission of alternative classical record label Starkland.org.

Film & Video

Watch party and film discussions. 

Dance & Music

Enjoy performances, talks and workshops that celebrate movement and the musical arts.

Art, Architecture & Photography

Learn from world-class designers, artists and experts in their fields. 

This program is sponsored by Friends of the San Francisco Public Library.

Attending Programs

All programs are drop-in (no registration necessary) unless otherwise noted. All SFPL locations are wheelchair accessible. For accommodations (such as ASL), call (415) 557-4557 or contact accessibility@sfpl.org. Requesting at least 3 business days in advance will help ensure availability.

This program will be conducted in English unless otherwise noted.

Notice: This event may be filmed or photographed. By participating in this event, you consent to have your likeness used for the Library’s archival purposes and promotional materials. If you do not want to be photographed, please inform a staff person or the photographer. A sticker will be provided to help identify you so that we can avoid capturing your image.

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The views and opinions expressed in programs presented by groups unaffiliated with SFPL do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SFPL or the City.